


Child of the Catalyst

by kovalencia



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action, Aliens, Androids, Angels, Death, Fantasy, Gore, LGBT, Multi, Original Story - Freeform, Original work - Freeform, Present Tense, Sci Fi Fantasy, Science Fiction, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence, sci fi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 02:34:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8127037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kovalencia/pseuds/kovalencia
Summary: To the humans, they're freak storms, natural disasters, signs of nature's wrath. 
To the androids that can see the truth, they're angels sent to purge the world of 'false life'.
Adrian Kaiser is one such android of 'false life', caught alongside his friends in a war hidden to mortal human eyes. All around him, his kind are dying brutally, their alien catalysts shattered to pieces. He doesn't understand why this war even began in the first place. He doesn't understand why he's suddenly begun to have vivid, bizarre dreams of stars and songs. 
When an android from another world descends in a veil of blinding red light, keen on retrieving her Lord's lost catalysts, questions find their answers, and everything falls into place.
Meanwhile, the Universe stirs restlessly.





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my name is Kov O. Valencia, known to many as Val. This is my current major project, a blend of science fiction and fantasy elements. I can't say much because I don't want to spoil, but expect lots of detail and complex lore, because I'm the kind of person who likes to make things difficult for myself.
> 
> I want to thank my dear friend, Monochrome, for being my beta! <3 I'm so (not) sorry I'm putting you through this hell.
> 
> Without much further ado, I hope you enjoy!

_ He hears the sound of metal shattering, much like glass, and suddenly wonders to himself if he’s always felt this cold. _

 

There’s something unnerving about the sound of the clock.  _ Tick tock. Tick tock.  _ It reminds him too much of a heartbeat, too much of something fragile that can end at a moment’s notice if you aren’t careful enough. He hates it. He hates it so much he has to fight down the urge to throw the damned thing out the window and watch it splinter into a thousand pieces on the concrete below.

_ Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.  _

Sometimes he even gets the urge to slice his own ears off.

With a sigh, he leans against the side of the bed, closing his eyes as he attempts to drown out the clock’s incessant noise. If only he had access to some damn music, he could blast the volume on high and belt out the lyrics to his favorite songs instead of listening to that thing. But alas, the room he’s in is empty, save for a bed and a dresser, and it’s not like he could wake up the whole building at six in the morning.

He wants to go home, because this place isn’t it. At least not anymore.

Suddenly, the door slides open soundlessly to welcome the one woman who makes his life in this place just a little more bearable. “Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” she sings, eyes brimming with energy as they always do. Her gaze settles on him sitting against the bed, putting the pieces together until she sighs sympathetically. “Another dream, Adrian?”

“Good morning, Mitzi,” Adrian says tiredly. “Yeah, another dream.”

Mitzi snatches a pen from her breast pocket and scribbles away at the clipboard in her arms. “That’s the twelfth one since you got here… Same one?”

“Yeah, with some differences.”

“Oh, really? You should tell Dr. Jager all about it as soon as you can,” Mitzi says. “Fortunately, you’ll have the chance to do just that at your appointment today. But first!” She holds up her finger, as if to emphasize the importance of following certain steps. “Breakfast! It should be ready for you in the usual room, you know the drill.”

Adrian heaves a deep sigh and lightly hugs himself. “Mhm… Got it.”

“...You okay? You sound kind of sad.”

“No, I’m just tired.” A lie, but he doesn’t like to worry Mitzi.

“Breakfast should pump you right up! Now go, go, go!” With that, and a couple of fist bumps in the air, Mitzi twirls away from the doorway. Adrian watches her go quietly.

After a minute or so of more silence — or at least, as silent as it could be with that damn clock — he finally wills himself to stand up and stretch, feeling and hearing every snap and creak of his body. He groans when he gets to his left leg, the pain of it shooting up his spine in electric shocks that trigger his brain’s constant screaming of  _ repair, repair, repair.  _ It’s enough to make him lean against the wall for support.

He takes another minute to gather himself before staggering towards the dresser and pulling out a clean change of clothes. It’s the usual white t-shirt and pair of black jeans, accompanied with plain white socks and briefs; absolutely plain and boring and dull and nothing like the clothes he has back at his one, true  _ home _ .

Getting into the jeans is painful, his injured leg prompting more screams to pound in his head like a drum being played right by his ear. He quietly regrets not having asked Mitzi to help him change before she left, but the embarrassment of having her dress him as if he were a child had held him back. Damn his pride. Damn his leg.

Damn it all.

He flops back onto the bed when the jeans are on, contemplating whether or not he should just ditch breakfast and wait for his appointment instead. At least then he will finally be able to go home and forget about this place until the next time he fucks up some part of his body. 

If only he hadn’t been careless. If only he hadn’t turned his back to the enemy for that one split second like the idiot he knows he still is.

His leg would be fine, and Cian would still be  _ alive _ .

The numbing sensation of his body running low on energy is what encourages him to strap on his boots and stagger like a drunkard through the plain white hallway. He makes a mental note to appreciate the sturdiness of walls when he finally makes it to the big white door separating him from “breakfast”. Steadying himself against it, he places his hand on the nearby panel and watches the door slide open, right at the same time his feet decide to lose footing and send him sprawling into the room.

“You look like a child barely learning to walk.”

Adrian looks up to see — oh for the love of all that is sweet and holy — Rita. His belly churns and whirrs uncomfortably just at the sight of her standing by the table in the bright white room. “And you look like someone who should shut up,” he growls, hobbling to his feet and ignoring the splitting pain that goes up his spine again.

“Watch your mouth, boy,” Rita snarls. She wags a finger in front of him with a venomous glint in her eyes. “If it weren’t for me doing a quick repair, you wouldn’t even be able to walk. Mitzi would have to carry your ungrateful ass everywhere.” She points at the single chair at the far end of the table and huffs, her other hand grasping around the metallic lever on the wall. “Now sit down and eat your damn breakfast.”

Adrian shoots her a look as he hobbles to the chair and slouches onto it, his hands instinctively going to the hem of his shirt to pull it up. He wrangles it off, throws it to the side, and lightly presses his fingers against the skin right over his —

“Hurry up, will you? I don’t have all day,  _ android _ .”

Adrian slams his fingers against the hollow cavity of his catalyst’s chamber a little too roughly, opening it up to reveal the catalyst itself shining dimly. The crescent metal rings surrounding the tiny light at the center are turning slower by the second, until Adrian picks up the steel tube lying on the table and plugs it into the cavity without another thought.

With a huff, Rita yanks the lever down.

_ Fuck. _

It feels good. Fucking amazing, actually. The way the electricity pulses into his body, flowing through every synthetic vein, every artificial system, has him trembling against the chair with a choked whine escaping from his lips. His skin tingles with warmth and his brain is all but adrift, lost in the sensation of pure energy bursting within him. It’s enough to make him forget that Rita is there, watching him with her cold, uncaring eyes.

It’s enough for him to forget the chaos of the world, the war he one day woke up to, the pain and loss he’s experienced these past few years. It’s enough, yet at the same time, it isn’t.

His bliss is cut short when Rita slams the lever up, stopping the stream of electricity pumping into his body. He groans in response, about to protest when Rita says, “A few seconds longer and your systems would have been fried.”

“I thought you would like something like that,” Adrian huffs.

“I’m not looking to get fired, thanks.”

Adrian pops the tube out of his chest and sets it back on the table before reaching for his discarded shirt, his catalyst’s chamber sliding shut on its own. “I still can’t understand why you applied for this job,” he says nonchalantly, pulling the shirt over his head as Rita quirks her lips at him.

“I’ve told you countless times,” she sneers. “God, for an android, you really don’t have a shred of intelligence in you, huh? Nothing I say ever stays in that metal husk you call a head.”

“That’s because everything you say means shit to me,” Adrian retorts. He stands up slowly, steadying himself on the chair as his body sways with the energy’s aftershocks. At least they numb the pain in his leg, even if just for a few minutes.

Rita pinches the bridge of her nose and groans. “Ugh. You really are insufferable.”

“Ha, funny,” Adrian chuckles dryly. He has to fight down the urge to close his hands around Rita’s throat every time she speaks. “Unlike you, I don’t hate someone based on their appearances.”

“I don’t hate based on appearance, I hate based on  _ origin _ , thank you,” Rita says indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Oh, as if that’s much better! Sorry that I wasn’t pushed out of a human womb like everyone else. Sorry that I was  _ chosen _ to be brought into the world, unlike the accident that was you.”

Rita outright snarls, an inhuman noise that fails to scare Adrian only because he has already heard much more frightening sounds. In fact, he can still hear them, day and night. Awful, terrible screeching, like birds of prey desperate to go in for the kill, desperate to tear into flesh still living and breathing under the painful clutch of their talons.

Rita is nothing compared to the things he’s seen, the things he’s fought, the things he’s killed with the lightning that sparks from his fingertips.

“You don’t scare me,” Adrian says flatly.

Before Rita can reply with poison in her voice, the door slides open and in walks Mitzi with a smile on her face, as usual. Adrian has never seen her _ not _ smiling, and it makes him wonder if she’s even capable of having a single bad day in her life. Or if she’s just that good at faking.

“Had your breakfast already, Adrian?” she asks sweetly.

“Yeah.”

“Perfect! I have excellent news for you.”

Rita throws Mitzi a look. “Please tell me that they’re rewriting his awful personality.” She pretends not to notice Adrian scowling at her with raging ferality.

“What? No, of course not. Besides, Adrian has a wonderful personality, Rita. I really don’t know how you fail to see it,” Mitzi answers with all the politeness Adrian can never hope to attain.

“I don’t see it because it’s not there.”

Mitzi sighs. “Well, okay, whatever you say. I didn’t come here to argue with you.” She turns to Adrian and beams, rocking back and forth on her heels as she lets out a soft giggle. “Guess what?”

Adrian raises a brow and gives her a small smile. “What?”

“You have to guess, silly!”

“I’m finally getting jetpacks?” He doesn’t mean it, but the idea is appealing.

Mitzi laughs, a pure, happy laugh that has Adrian’s face feeling a little too warm. He blames the aftershocks still wavering inside of him. “No, no! I mean, that would be cool, but I don’t think there’s any funding for that as of right now.”

“Then what’s up?”

“Your appointment got bumped up!”

Adrian’s breath stills (though of course, it’s not like he needs it). An earlier appointment means going home — his real home — sooner, and away from this place, away from Rita. “Are you… Are you serious?” he asks, excitement building up in his voice.

Mitzi nods with a grin. “Of course, I have no reason to fib.”

Adrian has to steady himself against the table this time, unable to stop his body from trembling with the sheer joy and relief. He ignores Rita’s disdained look and instead focuses on Mitzi’s knowing smile, taking a moment to gather himself and ask, “W-what time?”

“Now, actually,” Mitzi answers, “if there’s nothing else for you to attend to.”

Adrian shakes his head several times and chokes back a sob. “No, there is — isn’t.” His voice cracks mechanically for a moment, but Mitzi doesn’t mind it. Instead, she giggles softly and walks up to him, offering her arm as Rita rolls her eyes and finally leaves the room.

“Let’s go get you home,” Mitzi says softly. “Six months is a long time to be homesick.”

Six months.  _ Six months.  _ It’s hard for Adrian to believe that he’s been in this forsaken place for a full six months, dreaming every other week, enduring Rita’s blatant hate for him, and mourning over Cian’s death every time he so much as thought of his name. The relief of going home swells up in his catalyst — no, his  _ heart _ _ — _ and he can’t stop the unexpected warm tear that rolls down his cheek.

Mitzi notices. “Interesting,” she mumbles. “I didn’t know androids could cry tears.”

Neither did Adrian.

 

The room for the appointment is identical to almost every other room in the building: everything immaculate white with a metallic sheen, and thin horizontal cyan lights brightly glowing along the walls and ceiling. The same faint scent of cleaning products is there too. The only difference is that there’s a huge one-way mirror on the wall facing him, and the only furniture is a single steel chair right in the middle.

Adrian’s always disliked the minimalistic look of the rooms and the chemical scent in the atmosphere. It’s always made him feel lost and empty, as if he’s undeserving of anything more than just plain walls and steel that serve only to remind him that he’s not human. It’s hard to believe he once felt safe and loved within these boring, lifeless walls.

With a heavy sigh, he lets Mitzi lead him to the chair and sits down, not missing the small smile she flashes him before she heads towards the door beside the mirror. “Dr. Jager will be with you in just a moment,” she says, opening the door and disappearing into the room where Adrian knows three other people stand idle, watching him, studying him. He can’t see them through his side of the mirror, but he can certainly feel their inquisitive gazes focused on him.

Out of all four hundred and something employees in the building, only three — Mitzi, Dr. Jager, and unfortunately for him, Rita — directly interact with him. The others are like shadows, always seen, always around, but never quite...there. It’s as if Adrian is unworthy of their human attention, only meant to be there for their studies and research.

A long time ago, when the old generation had begun to give way to the new, it hadn’t been that way. A long time ago, when this place had still felt like home, Adrian had been surrounded by humans he could easily call his friends and family.

Oh, how the times have changed.

Closing his eyes and raising his hips to slide his jeans off, Adrian could barely stop himself from shaking, too excited to finally go home to his new, true family: the family that will never age and leave him behind, the family that will never fade, never be taken by the weary hands of time.

_ Time _ . Damned, merciless time. He hates it so much, can’t stand it in any of its shapes and forms. Clocks, watches, timers, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, the passage of day and night, the revolution of the Earth around the blazing Sun.

And the  _ tick tock. _ Especially the  _ tick tock _ , the very heartbeat of time. He wishes with all his might that he will someday find the heart itself and crush it within his own two hands.

A female voice suddenly speaks from above.

_ Commencing android system replacement. _

The floor in front of him opens up — slowly, gradually — to reveal a pair of steel claws with shiny joints and thin, red wires coiled around the sleek metal. They latch onto his pale left leg without another delay, securing tightly with a soft click around the warm flesh where knee meets thigh. A moment passes and, just like that, a hollow feeling creeps its way into his thigh as the rest of his leg slides off seamlessly, taking with it the pain and humiliation.

He can’t stop himself from glancing down, and what he sees has his skin crawling.

Inside his detached leg, splintered metal, snapped wires, and cracked lights stare up at him, fading from sight as the claws drag it into the darkness of the floor’s chamber. To think his body had been attached to  _ that _ for six months, a broken, ruined part of himself just hanging there, held up by magnets and wires. He’s lucky it had only been his leg. It could have easily been anything else.

He could have been like Cian with his catalyst impaled on the end of the enemy’s holy spear. He could have been just another android on the news, tragically lost to one of the many freak storms terrorizing the globe.

Freak storms. If only they were freak storms. If only, if only, if only.

Adrian is too distraught to notice Dr. Jager suddenly sitting beside him, a thin black tablet on her lap and a slender stylus held delicately between her gloved fingers. “Adrian Kaiser,” she says in her authoritative voice, laced with all the wisdom and formality one would expect from someone of her league. “Come back to us.”

Her words startle Adrian out of his malicious reverie. He immediately directs his attention towards her composed figure with an apology already tumbling from his lips, but stops when Dr. Jager holds up her hand. “No need to apologize,” she says calmly. “I completely understand that you have endured much stress in the past six months.” She clears her throat and adjusts her glasses. “I am here to help you.”

Everything about Dr. Jager is neat and organized. Her hair, a blonde so pale it could easily pass off as white, is woven into a perfectly crafted bun, not a strand out of place. Her clothes are finely ironed without a single crease or wrinkle in sight. Even her fair face is free of any marks, no beauty marks, no freckles, absolutely nothing. Everything about Dr. Jager is so immaculate and perfect it’s hard to believe she’s even human.

“Now,” she begins, activating her tablet with a single tap of her finger. “Your dreams. I predicted in our last meeting that you would have another dream last night. Was my prediction correct?” She smiles, as if already knowing the answer.

“Yes,” Adrian replies with a nod.

“Was your dream the same as the others you’ve had?”

“No.”

Dr. Jager’s grey eyes glisten in the glow of the fluorescent lights. “Ah, a variant dream,” she hums. “The first of its kind… Please, do describe the dream in detail, as much as you can remember.”

Adrian heaves a deep breath, and then speaks. “It started like the others… I was standing in the middle of a field of stars, fog all around me. I heard singing again, but this time it was different. The words were different, I mean, sounding a lot more pained than anything else.”

He’s too engrossed in the description of his dream to notice the mechanical claws rising from the dark chamber, a new leg in their grasp.

“Could you make out any of the words?” Dr. Jager asks, her stylus moving elegantly across the bright screen of the tablet.

“No. It was still gibberish.” Adrian stares up at the ceiling. “But I did hear something that sounded a lot like ‘I rest’. Over and over again. I rest, I rest, I rest.”

“Do you have any idea what that might mean?”

“No, not really.”

One claw grasps around the hollow opening of his thigh while the other slowly brings the new leg closer and closer.

Dr. Jager hums thoughtfully. “Go on.”

So Adrian does. “The purple lightning was there again… But this time there was more of it, and it was brighter and louder and I was scared that it was going to strike me. I really felt like I was about to die.” He sighs, rubbing at his temples. “Then it turned into a bright red color and faded away.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“Interesting…” The stylus rhythmically dances across the screen. “Was there anything else out of the ordinary?”

“My catalyst was hurting a lot in the dream. It felt like it was about to explode or something.”

The magnets lining the opening of the new leg seamlessly attach to the ones on his thigh, suddenly invoking a painful spark of electricity up his spine and into his brain. He chokes out a strangled gasp, his body overcome by intense sensation, and he instinctively sinks his nails into the arms of the chair. The steel shrieks under the strain.

“Relax, the pain is only temporary,” Dr. Jager assures him. “Your body is trying to accept and adjust to the replacement. It might take a couple of days until you have full control again.”

Adrian bites his lip, nodding dumbly as he struggles to regain his composure. The pain gradually fades, diminishing into a numb buzz, and he wills himself to relax. He follows Dr. Jager’s gaze to his hands’ tight grip on the chair’s arms. The steel is scratched away, leaving deep, hollow scars. “Amazing,” Dr. Jager breathes, “the strength an android can possess.”

Adrian’s stomach whirrs uncomfortably. He doesn’t think his destructive capabilities are amazing. He rather be rid of them, truth be told.

Dr. Jager notices the discomfort on his face and clears her throat, directing her attention back to her tablet. “Is there anything else about your dream that you remember?”

“Yes,” Adrian breathes, thankful for the change of conversation. “Just one more thing.”

“Go on.”

“I saw a face.” Adrian pauses. He’s not sure why, but his skin is crawling, and his catalyst weighs so heavily in his chest it hurts. “A really pale face, with purple scales around their ears and cheeks and eyes.” He shifts uncomfortably. “Oh yeah, the eyes. They were white and glowing, like stars.”

Dr. Jager’s stylus slips from her grip and falls to the floor with a clatter. “Ah, pardon me,” she says politely, bending over to pick it up. Adrian barely notices the slight tremble in her fingers, the unsteadiness of her hand. “Like stars, you say… I’ve come to theorize that your dreams may be deriving from your catalyst, considering its unknown origins.” She sits up straight and crosses her legs, back to her composed self.

“You think my dreams are caused by whatever made the catalysts?”

“Precisely. We still have yet to find out what entity built the catalysts, and for what reasons. We do know one thing about their function, however.”

“The instinct to protect,” Adrian says easily, as if reciting from a school textbook.

“Correct.” Dr. Jager smiles. “Demonstrated by the defeat of that horrendous flood all those years ago. You and your kind really did the world a favor.”

The flood. If only it had been a flood, and not the hideous serpentine beast with teeth bigger than towers and a maw large enough to swallow an island whole. If only it had been a flood, and not the start of a war only he and  _ his kind _ could see, disguised as storms and nature’s wrath to mortal human eyes. If only. Oh, if only.

“Whatever the case,” Dr. Jager continues, “your dreams don’t appear to be doing you any harm. I do suggest keeping a log, however, to record dreams in the future.” She taps her tablet off and slips her stylus into the breast pocket of her plain white blouse. “Please do email me with any new variant dreams you may have.”

“I will. Thank you, Dr. Jager.”

Dr. Jager shakes her head. “No, no, thank you for your trust.” She rises to her feet and straightens her back, a strain in her shoulders as if she’s suddenly carrying a heavy weight on her back. “Take care of yourself, Adrian. I’m sure we'll meet again soon.” With that, she turns away and disappears through the door, quiet as a ghost.

Adrian reclines back and sighs, the claws disappearing into the darkness as the floor closes with a soft hiss.

_ Android system replacement complete. _

 

Adrian swears he’s somehow reverted to a newborn program, his left leg constantly wobbling underneath him as Mitzi helps him into the elevator. “This damn leg,” he hisses, “won’t cooperate. I’m useless like this.”

“Aw, don’t say that.” Mitzi pouts. “All you need is a couple of days to take it easy at home with your friends. You’ll be running about and fighting off storms in no time.”

Storms. Adrian wants to tell Mitzi they’re not storms, but he can’t. She wouldn’t understand or believe him. She’s only a human after all, a human who has no business knowing what the androids really are up against. It doesn’t concern her. It won’t ever affect her.

In all honesty, Adrian envies her someplace deep in the dark recesses of his mind. He’d do anything to be a human ignorant of the secret war, instead of a soldier unwillingly standing at the frontlines with no armor, no training, just pure raw skill and instinct.

“Oh! I know you fight the storms to keep us safe and all, but try not to run straight into them, okay? You were lucky it was only your leg this time.”

Adrian grits his teeth; he knows that.

“You could have wound up like poor Cian… I really do hope Ireland is holding up okay without their star boy.”

Adrian clenches his fists. He likes Mitzi, he really does; she just doesn’t know when to be quiet sometimes. As they step out of the elevator and into the lobby, he tries not to let her words get to him, because he knows she doesn’t mean any harm. She would never do anything to hurt anyone.

He doesn’t say a word as he hobbles across the smooth marble flooring, not even when Mitzi randomly bursts into a spiel about how sweet and adorable lambs are. “They’re just so docile and lovely,” she rambles thoughtlessly, reaching the glass doors before him. She scans her ID card across the panel and absentmindedly plays with her hair. “Obedient too, if you know how to handle them.”

“Uh-huh,” Adrian says reflexively, stepping outside into the humid air of Luxembourg. Honestly, he doesn’t care about lambs. To him, there’s nothing cute about their beady black eyes, and their narrow, angular faces look more like skulls barely fitted with stretched pieces of carpet. He doesn’t say anything, though, only smiles and nods his head when Mitzi starts listing off lamb facts.

“The other day, Fritz and Helga invited me to a steakhouse for my birthday and — ” Mitzi strides over to the parked car waiting for them, Adrian hobbling closely behind. “ — they tried to get me to eat lamb, but I was like — ” She swings the back door open. “ — lambs are so cute, why would you eat them?”

Adrian slides into the car and onto the black leather seats, leaning his head back and paying no attention to the figure in the driver’s seat. He barely registers the sound of the passenger door opening and Mitzi hopping inside. “Of course, they laughed at me.” She shakes her head and sighs. “Fools! They will never understand.”

“Are you talking about the Voss cousins?” drones Rita’s dull voice from the driver’s seat.

Adrian nearly snaps his own neck with the way he throws his head forward to glare daggers at Rita. “Why is  _ she _ here?” he growls, fists curling at his sides.

“Rita’s the only one who knows the shortcut to the Manoir d’Astre,” Mitzi says. “She thought you’d want to get home sooner so she volunteered. Isn’t that sweet? You two may be finally starting to get along.”

Adrian narrows his eyes and bites back a hiss. Rita’s not looking at him, but he knows the kind of self-satisfied smirk she must have on her face right now. “Yeah no, she just wants to get rid of me sooner.”

“Don’t say that, Adrian,” Mitzi pouts. “That’s not very nice.”

“I told you he has an awful personality that the devs need to seriously rewrite, Mitz,” Rita mumbles.

“Okay, that’s not very nice either! Both of you, just cut it out and learn to at least be tolerant of each other, please?”

“Trust me,” Adrian growls. “This  _ is _ us being tolerant.”

“You wouldn’t want to see us otherwise,” Rita adds.

Mitzi only sighs; it’s going to be a long ride.

 

The Manoir d’Astre is just as Adrian remembers it: the epitome of modern and advanced architecture lovingly crafted into one stunning entity. It’s three stories tall with two additional stories devoted to an entire glass observatory, situated proudly by the shining blue lake and surrounded by green fields and trees. A wide stone path leads from the main road to the front plaza, an area of polished stone with an elegant fountain at the center. Despite the secluded location, miles away from the nearest city, it’s perfect — it’s home.

Adrian breathes in the crisp, clean air and smiles at the familiar tap of stone underneath his feet. “Relaxing, no?” he hears Mitzi from behind him. He turns around and catches her smiling, her eyes closed as the wind blows gently through her hair. “You are very lucky, Adrian. I wish I could live peacefully in a place like this.”

“Why can’t you?” Adrian asks. “Do you really have to stay at the laboratory all the time?”

“Of course, it’s my job,” Mitzi answers. “Even when you’re not there, we’re always researching and testing the catalysts in storage. There’s still so much we have yet to learn.” She slowly reaches out and hovers her fingers over his chest. “Ah, they really are wondrous things. Even without touching it, I can feel the energy resonate.”

Adrian blurts out, “You can touch it.” He quickly realizes his words and awkwardly clears his throat. “I mean, we won’t see each other for a long time, probably, and you’ve never…”

Mitzi giggles, her eyes twinkling in the afternoon light as she gently presses her fingertips against the clothed skin over his spinning catalyst. “...It’s warm,” she says. “I never expected metal to be warm.” She retracts her fingers and gazes up at the sky. “It must be the light…” she whispers.

Adrian quirks his lips. “The light?”

“Yes, the light. Marvelous, holy light.” Mitzi smiles warmly at him. “The light is the foundation of all life. Perhaps — ”

“Mitz!” Rita shouts out from the car, blaring the horn several times. “We need to get back to the lab before sundown. You know how much I hate driving in the dark.”

“Alright, alright, just give me a moment!” Mitzi huffs. She briefly pats Adrian on the shoulder and flashes him another smile. “We can talk at another time. For now, you should head home and rest.” She briskly turns away and strides towards the car. “Take care, Adrian! Remember, don’t go running into storms again!”

Adrian quietly watches her disappear into the car and, just like that, she and Rita are gone. He won’t miss Rita by a longshot, that’s for sure, but the same can’t be said about Mitzi. He’s always had an unusual fondness for her, but he’s not sure why. He just knows he adores her bright smile and her endless optimism and her fascination with the world. Even though she has no filter for the things she says, she never means any harm, and that just makes her even sweeter.

Upon retrospect, Adrian realizes Mitzi reminds him a lot of Cian.

Cian, too, was optimistic and carefree, never surrounding himself with doubt or any other kind of negativity. He always gave Adrian the kindest smiles and spoke to him with the gentlest tones. He insisted on putting others before himself, even if it meant risking his life over and over again.

“ _ Cian _ .” Saying his name alone has Adrian’s catalyst threatening to malfunction.

Rubbing at his temples and shaking his head, Adrian tries to clear his mind of all thoughts and starts down the path to the plaza, focusing instead on the family who is waiting for him just beyond a pair of black steel doors. His leg is still unsteady, but he manages just fine. He finally reaches the doors, but before he can knock, they slide open to reveal a short young woman.

“Qiu Ling, hey,” Adrian greets with an awkward smile. “It’s been a while.”

Qiu Ling’s face splits into a grin. “I knew I sensed our moody boy,” she says with a glint in her mist grey eyes. She doesn’t give Adrian time to say or do anything else because she’s tossing her head back and shouting, “KAISER IS HERE!”

There’s a loud door slam followed by thunderous stomping from the floor above, and the next thing Adrian knows, he’s nearly being tackled to the ground. “Kaede,” he wheezes out, barely regaining his footing and wrapping his arms around the trembling body that has him in a tight embrace.

“You’re back, you’re really back,” Kaede mumbles into his shoulder. “I thought I — we would never see you again…”

“It was just my leg,” Adrian assures him. “Which, by the way, is about to give out under me.”

“Shit, sorry.” Kaede scrambles off of him and steadies him with both hands. “I just... Really missed you.” He notices Qiu Ling side-eyeing them both and steps back, running his fingers nervously through his messy auburn hair. He must have been lying down, Adrian ponders, because Kaede’s always on top of keeping his hair neatly styled. “Q’s been an annoying, intolerable brat without you.”

“Yeah, sure, blame it on me,” Qiu Ling grumbles from the doorway. “So, Kaiser, how was your vacation at the doctor’s office?”

“Horrible,” Adrian huffs.

Kaede looks him up and down. “With those clothes, obviously,” he says in disgust. “Your caretakers really shouldn’t be so cheap with the clothing.”

“Glad to see you can go from emotional baby to your usual snobby self in less than a minute,” Qiu Ling snickers. “Classic Hayashi.”

Kaede’s eyes — a different, yet still lovely, shade of blue every time — darken. “Shut up, Q.”

“Nah.”

Adrian can’t help but smile. “You two don’t know how happy it makes me seeing you bicker as usual.”

Qiu Ling blinks. “Holy shit, they broke him.”

Adrian chuckles and shakes his head. “No, I’m just really, really glad nothing’s changed. It still feels like home.”

Suddenly, the sweetest voice known to all of mankind softly calls out from the hallway. “Adrian? Is that really you, dear?” Out from the shadows emerges a beautiful woman with small freckles scattered over her pale face and vibrant green eyes. “Oh goodness, look at you, still so handsome.” She steps towards him and holds out her arms. “My dear boy, we’ve all missed you so much.”

Adrian accepts her gentle, motherly hug, his worries washing away with the faint scent of apple cinnamon in her hair. “I missed you guys too, Mom,” he says absentmindedly. There’s a brief moment of silence. “...Sigrun. I mean Sigrun.”

Sigrun steps back and giggles. “First Q yesterday, and now you? Am I really that much of a mother?” Everyone nods immediately.

“But don’t think you’re like a human mother or something,” Qiu Ling says. “You’re a mother  _ bear _ . I mean, with the way you behave against those winged freaks? Hoo, remind me to never get on your bad side.”

Sigrun giggles again. “Well, I  _ am _ fond of bears.”

Qiu Ling claps her hands once and holds them up towards the sky. “I love being right.”

“Where’s Hakim?” Adrian asks, looking around.

“Oh, he’s inside with our guest,” Sigrun answers. “Eileen Blythe, our kin from England. She’s had a very trying time, so we’ve been letting her stay with us.”

“Eileen… She was friends with Cian, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. He’s part of the reason she’s ailing.”

The way Sigrun’s face twists has Adrian’s catalyst stopping. “...Part?” Sigrun falls quiet, her lips tightening into a firm line.

“You should come inside, Kaiser,” Qiu Ling says in a low tone. “I’ve had all the news archived since you were gone. Figured you’d want to catch up.” She jerks her thumb into the hallway and disappears inside, followed by Sigrun.

Adrian glances over at Kaede. “How many?”

Kaede averts his gaze and says nothing, hugging himself as he steps towards the Manoir. “...Come on,” he mumbles. “Q will show you everything.”

Adrian moves to follow him inside, but then he stops and stares at the setting sun for a brief moment. It’s a gorgeous, breathtaking sight, like a carefully painted masterpiece of reds and golds and subtle tints of violet. His catalyst stirs with yearning. There’s something out there, he thinks, something calling out to him from beyond those colors gradually fading into dusk.

He’s finally home, and yet, it feels like there’s something — or someone — missing.


	2. Light of the Holy Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, violence.
> 
> Ah, foreshadowing.

Qiu Ling already has the archived news footage paused on the widescreen by the time Adrian walks into the living room. He settles beside Kaede on the couch, barely noticing the brunette girl seated at the armchair with her hands neatly folded on her lap. Eileen Blythe, England’s daughter. This is the first time Adrian has ever seen her, but he remembers Cian talking about the prim and proper Eileen and how much he adored her as if she were his sister.

Whatever pain she’s going through, Adrian can sympathize.

A tall man with two cups of tea enters the room, his amber gold eyes settling on Adrian. “Welcome back,” he says, his voice deep, smooth, and ever so patient. “How are you feeling?” He holds out a cup towards him.

“Thank you, Hakim,” Adrian murmurs, taking the cup carefully and inhaling the tea’s earthy scent — masala chai, one of his favorites. “I’m alright, just… Anticipating what I missed.” He takes a tentative sip, his eyes following Hakim as the taller man hands the other cup to Eileen and seats himself in the armchair across from her.

“Ms. Blythe,” Hakim addresses the girl. “You can stay in the guest room while we debrief Adrian.”

“I’ll let you know when we’re done,” Qiu Ling says from her spot at the kitchen island, her fingers sprinting across her laptop’s keyboard. In the stool beside her, Sigrun silently fidgets with the ends of her hair.

Eileen shakes her head. “No, no, it’s alright, I insist.” Her voice is quiet but firm; a sign of her simultaneous pain and strength. “It still doesn’t feel real to me… I need to see it again. I need to make sure this isn’t just some awful dream I’m somehow in.”

“You sure?” Qiu Ling asks.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Qiu Ling jabs at the keyboard and the footage begins to play. Images of a grassy coastland and steep cliffs swept into ruin by ‘freak storms’ play across the screen, accompanied by a female voice. “This just in: a massive typhoon spontaneously manifested this morning off the northern coast of Scotland, sweeping the nation’s android, Logan Keir, into the sea.

“Keir had been visiting a friend when the typhoon struck, and witnesses report that she had underestimated the storm’s strength when she set off to fight it. Those who were brave enough to spectate watched helplessly as Keir was taken by the overwhelming currents. The typhoon beat at the coast for another two minutes before dissipating into the sea. No other casualties occurred.

“The Scottish government, hopeful of Keir’s survival, has launched a search-and-rescue party, with no results thus far.”

Eileen grimaces. The images of Scotland’s battered shore shift into a photograph of a single catalyst shattered among rugged rocks. “The weight of this tragedy is magnified in light of recent events,” the voice continues. “Just last month, a violent storm in Belgium claimed the life of Ireland’s Cian Rowe and incapacitated Luxembourg’s Adrian Kaiser. Nations across the globe have begun to question if the storms’ increased frequency and intensity are signs of some divine wrath.”

“Well, they aren’t wrong,” Qiu Ling mumbles absentmindedly.

“We will have more as the story develops,” the voice concludes. 

The broadcast cuts off, only to be replaced with shaky footage of a tattered body washed ashore. Bits of metal and wiring are strewn across the rocky surface as people audibly mourn. “Today is a tragic day for all of Scotland,” the female voice from before says. “What you’re seeing is the civilian discovery of Logan Keir, who was swept away by a typhoon last week.”

Adrian’s systems run cold.

“The forensics team claims Keir was slammed against the rocky coastline several times by the rough waves, destroying her catalyst and systems.” The footage focuses on Logan’s scarred face for a brief moment, and Adrian can see horror in the one eye she has left. “Logan Keir’s death is a new addition to the android casualties these past seven years.”

The screen blacks out, giving Adrian a moment to breathe, and then displays helicopter video feed of a city in total ruin. “Breaking news!” a different voice cries out. “The largest tornado ever recorded has just demolished the city of Cardiff in Wales, claiming thousands of lives. It’s been confirmed that Talfryn Vaughan, the nation’s android, is among the casualties.”

Adrian looks over to Eileen. She’s pointedly staring at anywhere but the screen, shaking and hugging herself tightly. He suddenly remembers how Cian had told him of the close, sibling-like relationship among the androids of the United Kingdom. It dawns on him that, in just a matter of months, Eileen had lost her brothers and sister.

He barely pays attention to the rest, only catching bits and pieces of the audio.

“ — a seaside village along the coast of Greece has just been — ”

“ — the storm tore through the occupied house — ”

“Ragna Ylva Falk, Denmark’s android and the world’s leading ‘Storm Hunter’, has just met her unruly demise at — ”

“Turkey made the announcement this morning that their android, Sevda Aksoy, is forbidden from leaving her estate in light of — ”

Adrian stares at his hands. His body is stiff and cold and everything is just so wrong and horrible. He could barely stomach the war when it had just been the androids falling victim to it, but now that humans are pouring into the casualty list, he’s completely nauseous. It’s not fair. It’s not fair to anyone, anywhere, at all.

The screen fades to black and Eileen bursts into tears. “Awful,” she sobs. “Everything is awful.” Sigrun is at her side in an instant, gently rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort.

“I thought they said they protect humans,” Adrian hears himself saying. “Or was that just a lie to cover up their shit?”

“No,” Qiu Ling answers. “Ever since Belgium, we haven’t been facing their run-of-the-mill folks anymore. Looks like their Lord is whipping out the big guns, which means the stronger they are, the greater the storms they generate. I guess they don’t care that the humans are being put at risk in the process.”

“It’s my fault,” Sigrun mumbles, lowering her gaze. “I shouldn’t have killed that fleet…”

“If you hadn’t, I would be another dead android on the list,” Adrian says firmly.

“I think all of us would be,” Kaede adds. “You shouldn’t blame yourself, you were just protecting us.”

“They’re right,” Eileen breathes shakily. “Those things started this war. We’re only defending ourselves.”

Hakim nods. “We can’t hold ourselves accountable for their actions. Whether we fight back, or run away, we are the victims. And now, so are the humans.” He closes his eyes with a sigh. “More than ever, we must protect them and ourselves.”

Qiu Ling snaps her laptop shut and fiddles with her thumbs. “The only issue is that they’re getting stronger while we really haven’t changed much,” she says matter-of-factly. “We have to train ourselves somehow, since upgrades are out of the question.”

“How come?” Adrian asks.

“The International Natural Disaster Aid Act,” Qiu Ling replies in a mocking formal tone, sticking up her index finger for added effect. “It was passed last month. The gist of it is that all countries must donate money to any nation in distress as a result of a freak storm. Since property damage is becoming more and more common, and human lives are also at stake, the government has to focus on human wellbeing first.”

“So no funding for us,” Kaede says with a sigh, tossing his head back onto the couch. “I get why they’re doing it, but… That just leaves us more vulnerable.”

“Or open to being coddled,” Qiu Ling drawls out. “My folks down at Singapore are trying to put me under house arrest like poor Sevda… But I refuse to be stuck in a room all damn day, every day. What kind of life is that?”

“Well, it’s not like you get out much anyway,” Kaede huffs.

Qiu Ling narrows her eyes. “Listen, I’d still like to have the right to go outside, even if I don’t use it often.” She clears her throat. “The point is, we’re screwed. No funding, no upgrades, no chance. Unless some miracle falls out of the sky, we’ll be extinct by next year.”

“Don’t say that,” Hakim scolds. “I know nothing is in our favor right now but… We can’t afford to lose hope.” He rises to his feet and steps towards the window, gazing down at the palm of his hand. “We’ve survived together for seven years. We can’t just let it end.”

“But they’re getting stronger,” Qiu Ling protests.

“Then we’ll get stronger too, somehow.”

Kaede raises a brow. “You really think we can do that?”

“I do,” Hakim says, gaze rising to the sunset. “I really do.” The golden rays of light settle over the lake like shadows, slowly fading from sight until dusk takes reign to spread its violet hues. Everyone falls silent.

Adrian’s catalyst turns just a little faster, and by the looks of slight discomfort on everyone else, he knows theirs are too. No one is sure why, but the coming of dusk always awakens something in them, and the rise of the moon stirs an unusual strength.

There’s a reason, Adrian realizes, why the enemy only strikes during the day.

 

“You won’t believe what Q did to her door the other day,” Kaede says later that night, sprawled across Adrian’s bed like a starfish. “She modified it so whenever it opens, a duck’s quack plays.”

Adrian looks up from rummaging through his desk. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

Adrian chuckles softly, finding a small photo album and flipping through it. “She’s obsessed with them,” he says. “Honestly, I was kind of expecting to come home to a family of pet ducks.”

“Oh please no,” Kaede groans. He rolls onto his stomach and buries his face into the pillow. “I’ll go back to Japan if she gets an actual duck.”

“Don’t let her catch you saying that.”

They both hear a distinct quack from next door, followed by another, and another. Kaede rolls off the bed and flies to the door, sliding it open and glaring at Qiu Ling in the hall. “Open that door one more time — ”

_ Quack _ .

Kaede screams and slides the door shut. “You know she’s just doing that to piss you off,” Adrian says, plopping down onto his bed with the album laid out across his lap. “You should just ignore it.”

“I know but — ”

_ Quack quack quack _ .

The door slides open again. “Q, I swear to fucking — ”

_ Quack quack quack quack quack quack quack _ —

“AGH!”

Amused, Adrian listens to Qiu Ling laugh like a maniac as she bolts into her bedroom and slams the door shut in front of Kaede with another loud quack. Kaede scratches at the door, growling and hissing, until he gives up and drags himself into the room with narrowed eyes. “I don’t understand how I’ve been friends with that menace for the past hundred years,” he grumbles.

“Neither do I, to be honest,” Adrian admits, gazing at the album.

The door slides shut and Kaede plops down beside him. “What are you looking at?” he asks, leaning against his arm.

“Memories,” Adrian says softly. He slowly runs his fingers down a particular photo depicting a smiling young man with green eyes and reddish brown hair. “I almost forgot what he looked like.”

Neither say his name; it doesn’t need to be said.

“I don’t want to forget anything,” Adrian confesses. “I want to remember all the good and bad times, because all of them are a part of me.” Kaede listens to him quietly. “I won’t let  _ them _ take that away from me. Even if they kill me, I’ll hold onto these memories forever.”

“...Do you think there’s something for us after we die?” Kaede asks.

“Maybe. I’d like to think there is.” Adrian closes the album with a sigh and looks over at Kaede. “...Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”

“Hm?”

“Did you get an eye color change? I could have sworn your eyes were brown.”  
Kaede blinks. “Oh, that.” He sits up and rubs at the corner of his eye. “It’s just a mod I installed. My normal eyes are still brown, but I’ve always thought blue was prettier… I _was_ going to get a green mod, but Sigrun’s eyes are already green so I figured I’d add some variety to the mix.”

“They’re nice,” Adrian says. “Blue suits you.”

Kaede blushes slightly. “Uh, t-thanks,” he stutters. “I mean, they’re… They’re not as nice as yours. Nothing beats purple.”

Adrian shrugs. “I guess my eyes are okay. They’re not natural, though.”

“Does that bother you?” Kaede asks genuinely.

“A little,” Adrian sighs. “It just makes me look less...human. People take one look at me and they know I’m an android.”

“Oh… I see what you’re saying.”

“Yeah.” Adrian falls back onto the mattress and stares up at the ceiling. “It’s been a long day.”

“Tired?”

“Exhausted.”

Kaede smiles and pats Adrian’s leg. “Get some rest then.” He stands up and walks to his bed on the other side of the room. “The forecast said to expect sunny days for the rest of the month… But you and I both know that’s not true.”

Adrian huffs. “Definitely not true.” He lazily tugs off his shirt and drops it onto the floor. “If only that much changed… Oh well. Good night, Kaede.”

“Good night, Adrian.”

If there’s one thing Adrian can look forward to, it’s getting a full night of rest now that his scheduled dream had passed. No more haunting songs to worry about. No more glowing white eyes staring into his soul, threatening him with the intensity of their gaze alone. No more, for the time being at least.

 

He’s wrong about the dream. Only this time, it’s a nightmare.

There’s a piercing pain in his catalyst, as if it were being slowly split open on the end of a sharp spear. It burns so much he swears the metal is melting inside of him, corroding his systems and wearing away at him from the inside. He wants to scream but he can’t. A cold grip is tightened around his throat; his vocals are being crushed.

“Elei kos ireste, fel lus yuei falas ivel.”

The gibberish phrase repeats itself over and over.

“Elei kos ireste, fel lus yuei falas ivel. Elei kos ireste, fel lus yuei falas ivel. Elei kos ireste, fel lus yuei falas ivel. Elei kos ireste, fel lus yuei falas ivel.”

The voice that speaks is soft but firm. It steadily grows louder and louder, splitting and burning his catalyst more and more until the searing pain is consuming him entirely. He tries to struggle, but there are cold, invisible hands around his arms and legs, holding him down, suffocating him under an unknown weight.

A figure of smoke and ash appears before him and reaches out towards his chest. Adrian starts trembling, shaking his head  _ no, no, please stay away, don’t hurt me, I’m begging you _ . Tears fall from his eyes as formless claws sink deep into his chest, snapping through wires as they tighten around his spinning catalyst.

His screams die in his throat before they can even be born. The claws slowly rip out his catalyst until he’s staring at it with his own two eyes. It’s still spinning, and the light at the center is still shining, but that all ends when it tenses up and bursts into a million tiny pieces.

“ADRIAN!”

Adrian bolts awake with a scream, reality rushing into focus. He feels a heavy weight on top of him and realizes that Kaede is straddling him, hands gripping his shoulders tightly and eyes quivering in fear. “Adrian, fuck, I thought you’d never wake up,” Kaede sobs. “You scared me half to death.”

“I was — I couldn’t — it hurt so much, I — ” Adrian can’t even talk. His body still burns and he can still hear the voice pounding in his head.

“Hold on, I’ll get you some water,” Kaede says breathlessly. He scrambles off of him and stumbles towards the door, sliding it open and disappearing into the dark hallway. Not a moment later, a soft quack plays and Qiu Ling pokes her head through the doorway. “Dude, are you okay? You were screaming like hell.”

Kaede rushes past her and sits beside Adrian, helping him sit up and grab the cup of cold water. “Adrian, what was that? Are you okay? Should I call the lab — ”

“No!” Adrian cries out. He chugs down the water in a desperate attempt to cool himself down and shakes his head wildly. “No, don’t, I just… I just need a notebook and something to write with.”

“I have a spare notebook, give me a sec,” Qiu Ling says, vanishing back into the hall.

“Adrian, please tell me what’s going on,” Kaede begs. “You were burning up. I thought your catalyst was going to overheat and burst!”

“I...” Adrian sets the cup on his nightstand and rubs his temples. “It was just a dream. A really bad dream. Don’t worry about me, please.”

“A...dream?” Kaede questions incredulously. “Androids aren’t supposed to dream.”

“I know, but I do. I had twelve of them in the lab.” Adrian breathes a shaky sigh. “This is the thirteenth.”

Qiu Ling returns to the room and hands Adrian a notebook with a pen. “Mind if I ask why you need this?” she asks skeptically. “I heard the whole dream thing. Thirteen of them, dude? What’s writing gonna do about that?”

“Dr. Jager told me to write down any other dreams I have,” Adrian answers, flipping the duck-themed notebook open and scribbling down all the nightmare’s details.

Kaede furrows his brows. “Dr. Jager? Who’s that?”

“My psychologist,” Adrian replies without looking up. “She was originally meant to help me through the trauma of losing Cian and injuring my leg but then the dreams started.” He fills out an entire page, dates it at the top, and sets the pen aside. “If anyone can help me understand what’s going on, it’s her…”

“But an android has never had dreams before,” Qiu Ling says. “There’s no way anyone can know why you’re suddenly the first.”

“I know, I know, but she’s onto something.” Adrian closes the notebook. “She already has a theory.”

Kaede rubs Adrian’s arm soothingly. “What is it?”

“She said… She said it could have something to do with whoever — or whatever — made the catalysts,” Adrian replies.

“Aliens,” Qiu Ling breathes in awe.

Kaede glares at her. “This isn’t the time for your jokes.”

“She’s kinda right, though,” Adrian says. “They found the catalysts hidden in some chamber inside the moon, remember? To say aliens put them there does sound crazy, but… Look at us. We’re actual, working androids. The idea isn’t too far-fetched.”

“Let’s not forget the things we’ve fought,” Qiu Ling adds. “Heavenly beings with wings, shrouded in light!” She throws up her arms dramatically. “...I’m calling bullshit if aliens don’t exist when our winged pals up there do.”

Kaede huffs. “I guess.”

“Whatever the case,” Qiu Ling sighs, “I hope your psychologist can find out the cause before I start having dreams too. I love sleep too much to even think about losing a few hours…”

“And yet you stay up until two in the morning writing useless programs,” Kaede retorts.

“Hey!” Qiu Ling points an accusing finger at Kaede. “My interactive desktop duckling is  _ not _ a useless program!” She shakes her head and starts towards the door. “Anyway, I’m going back to bed. I hope you can get some sleep, Adrian.”

“Close the door on your way out,” Kaede says.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” But Qiu Ling closes the door anyway.

Kaede lets out an amused snort and directs his attention back to Adrian. “How do you feel?” he asks, concerned as usual.

“Better, thanks.” Adrian reclines against the headboard. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kaede assures him. “As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.” He smiles warmly and playfully taps Adrian’s forehead. “Get some rest if you can. I’ll wake you up if you start dreaming again.”

“I’ll be fine. You need rest too,” Adrian insists.

Kaede shrugs and stands up from the bed. “You need it more than I do. I’m not the one who’s been having weird dreams.”

“Kaede…”

“Hush. Less protest, more sleep.”

Adrian smiles. “Alright, alright… Thanks, again.”

Kaede gives him a thumbs up and promptly crawls back into bed. Adrian doesn’t dream again for the rest of the night.

 

Adrian is enjoying his breakfast of French toast and coffee when Qiu Ling barrels into the kitchen. “You have a visitor out front,” she says. “Name is Mitzi.”

Adrian flies to the front door and swings it open. “Mitzi?” he says breathlessly when he lays eyes on her, the usual smile on her face.

“Good morning, Adrian,” she greets cheerfully. “How’s your leg?”

“Oh, uh, it’s fine. I think I have full control over it.”

Mitzi beams. “That’s great!” She claps her hands together. “Dr. Jager sent me here to ask your friends a couple of questions.”

“What kind of questions?”

“She just wants to know if they’ve been having dreams as well,” Mitzi answers. “She finds it difficult to believe that you’re the only android capable of dreaming.”

“Oh, Kaede and Qiu Ling haven’t had any dreams,” Adrian says. “I’m not sure about Hakim, Sigrun, or Eileen, though. I can ask them right now.”

“Dr. Jager prefers that I record their responses. Even the non-dreamers.” Mitzi holds up her phone and shrugs. “You know her and her organization obsession.”

Adrian bites his lip. “True… Well, come in then.”

Suddenly, Rita appears from the path with her hands on her hips. Adrian’s mood sours instantaneously. “Mitz,” Rita huffs. “Hurry up, I’m hungry. The cafe closes in about an hour.”

Mitzi throws Rita a glare. “I know, give me a moment!” She turns back to Adrian and sighs. “If you could just get them to come outside for a bit, I can get their responses and leave. You know how Rita is.”

“Yeah, I know,” Adrian says in a low tone. “Okay, give me a minute. I’ll go get them.”

“Ah, thank you, you’re a real lifesaver.”

Adrian darts inside and into the living room, where everyone is watching the latest episode of some new show that premiered while he was away. “Why is Adelaide such a dumbass?” Qiu Ling grumbles with a mouth full of Danish cookies. “It was so obvious the dude was a zombie and now she’s dead, the fool.”

“I told you she was going to die,” Kaede says from the couch. “She’s been a minor character from the beginning.”

“She was real cute though…”

Hakim sighs. “Can you two discuss the show while we’re  _ not _ watching it?”

Qiu Ling holds up a cookie. “Sure, Dad.” Hakim shoots her a look as she shoves the entire cookie into her mouth and grins.

“Guys,” Adrian calls out. “I need a big favor.”

Sigrun dutifully pauses the show — much to everyone’s chagrin — and looks up at Adrian from her seat. “What is it, sweetheart?” she asks.

Qiu Ling squints. “Please tell me the forest is on fire because that’s the only way you’re getting me to move.”

“Uh, no…”

“Then I don’t wanna hear it.”

“Listen, Dr. Jager is doing more research into my dreams — ”

Hakim’s eyes darken. “Dreams?” Sigrun visibly tenses and stares at the ground.

“Yeah, dreams, and she needs to know if you guys have had any.”

Qiu Ling groans. “Dude, you already know Kaede and I haven’t.”

“I know, but Dr. Jager insists on getting audio proof from all of you,” Adrian says, eyes darting to the clock. “She sent Mitzi to do it, but Mitzi’s kind of pressed for time so — ”

“Just let her inside,” Kaede says. “A friend of yours is a friend of ours.”

“She wants you to go outside though, so she can leave sooner.”

Qiu Ling throws her arms up. “What, is she going to get distracted and have a useless conversation about politics if she steps inside for a bit?”

Adrian nervously scratches the back of his neck. “Actually… She is like that. She randomly started talking about lambs yesterday for no reason.”

Qiu Ling groans loudly, flings herself onto her feet, and strides towards the door. “Okay, kiddos, let's get this random interview over with.” Kaede and Eileen get up — Kaede with a tired look, Eileen with an amused giggle — and follow Qiu Ling out.

Hakim and Sigrun exchange wary looks. “Adrian… How is the weather?” Sigrun tentatively asks.

“Sunny,” Adrian answers.

“No clouds?”

“Nope.”

“...Very well.”

The three of them join the others outside, where Qiu Ling and Mitzi are both giggling over something. “Hey, Adrian!” Qiu Ling calls out, throwing an arm around Mitzi’s shoulders. “This girl likes my duck boots! She’s my new best friend!”

Mitzi grins. “I just ordered a pair of my own! And for half off thanks to some cool app Eileen showed me.”

“Clothes are too overpriced nowadays,” Eileen says with a shrug.

“How anyone besides Q can like those ugly ass boots is beyond me…” Kaede mumbles under his breath. He’s standing by the fountain, arms crossed over his chest, with a vacant look cast at the three girls.

“I heard that,” Qiu Ling sneers. “Don’t be jealous just because your style is lame.”

Kaede deadpans. “Yeah,  _ my _ style is the lame one.”

“I think both of you have wonderful styles,” Mitzi says earnestly. “We should all come to appreciate the diversity of looks we can achieve.”

“We all can’t have the same tastes,” Eileen agrees.

“Mitz, stop goofing around and get to the interviews,” Rita growls impatiently.

Mitzi frowns for a moment. “Okay, wait a second.” She taps away at her phone, just as the blue sky darkens a few shades. “Where is the voice memo app…”

Sigrun tenses. “Hakim,” she breathes, staring up at the clouds that are rolling in.

“I know,” Hakim mumbles. “I see it.”

Adrian blinks up at the sky in disbelief. He can’t process how quickly the clouds are thickening and how the sky contorts into a murky grey color.  “What, but it was just — ”

“Get everyone inside. Right now.”

Rita groans. “Mitz, it’s about to rain and you know I hate getting wet.”

“Everyone,” Sigrun calls out, “please get inside.”

“Listen, Rita, a little water won’t kill you,” Mitzi says. Too busy swiping wildly at her phone, she doesn’t notice the urgency in the air.

Qiu Ling huffs up at the sky. “This one might,” she murmurs. Eileen shifts uncomfortably and hides behind her.

“We should really go inside,” Kaede insists. “You humans are susceptible to, uh… Colds, right?”

Mitzi waves her hand dismissively. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Sigrun trembles. “Still, even a little water might — ”

“Found it!” Mitzi cries out at the exact same time thunder splits their ears and the sky gives way to pouring rain. The androids immediately fall into a defensive position, expecting the worst, but nothing happens. The rain simply continues to fall, soaking them to the core.

“Great,” Rita mumbles, shaking off her jacket and throwing it over her head. “Just great… Mitz, hurry up so we can get out of this rain and get some food.”

“It’s...literally just rain,” Qiu Ling says in disbelief.

“What else would it be?” Mitzi asks curiously.

“...Nothing.”

Kaede sighs and strides into the Manoir. “Just call me when it’s my turn.”

Adrian can’t help but laugh awkwardly. “Holy shit, that was intense, but it’s just rain… Just rain,” he says breathlessly, so relieved he’s giddy. He has to hold onto Hakim’s arm to steady himself. 

Hakim isn’t relieved, though. In fact, he looks more on edge, staring at the sky and the thick, grey clouds littering it with an overwhelming amount of distrust.

“Hakim,” Sigrun says softly. “Maybe it really is just a flash storm this time. Maybe we’re being a little too paranoid.” Hakim says nothing.

“You androids are all fucking weird as hell,” Rita mutters. “Losing your shit over a bit of rain… Tch.”

Adrian scowls at her. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“It’s not like I care anyway.”

“Alright, let’s not cause any strife,” Mitzi says. “Our friends here are just on edge about the freak storms, but no worries, this one’s just a baby thunderstorm. You can tell by the wind velocity. Now…” She turns to Qiu Ling and Eileen. “Who’d like to go first?”

Eileen steps out from behind Qiu Ling. “Can I? I really don’t like rain so I’d like to get this over with,” she says.

“Oh sure, no problem. Let’s just step over to here for a bit.” Mitzi leads Eileen to the other side of the fountain and taps her phone. “Alright, please state your name and country of origin…”

Adrian drowns out their conversation, directing his attention back to Hakim. “Hakim, relax,” he says. “It was an actual storm this time, we’re not in any danger.”

“It doesn’t feel right,” Hakim mutters. “A storm doesn’t manifest that fast.”

Qiu Ling quirks her lips. “Yeah, I agree. They’re probably waiting for the humans to leave, so we should still be on our guard.”

“I guess…” Adrian takes a deep breath.

_ Shink _ . They all turn their heads at once.

A spear of pure, dazzling light is pierced straight through Eileen, her face contorted into a mixture of pain and horror as she falls onto the ground with a thud. Mitzi stands over her body, a pair of wings fanning out from her back.

“RITA, RUN!” Adrian screams, but as he turns around, Rita is staring at him with a predatory look in her eyes.

“That’s cute,” she says with a cruel grin. “You hate me so much and yet you still value my safety?” Two wings burst from her back. “You androids really are fucking weird.”

Adrian’s catalyst stops in his chest.

Sigrun suddenly rams into Rita with a shield of solid ice, sending her sprawling across the plaza. “Focus, Adrian, focus!” she cries out, a steel sword manifesting in her right hand. “Do not think of them as the humans you thought you knew!”

Mitzi takes to the sky and dives at Sigrun with a screech. A spiked chain instantly bursts from Qiu Ling’s hand. It wraps around Mitzi’s legs, tightens until it draws blood, and then violently yanks her to the ground.

Mitzi collides into the stone with an inhuman cry and snarls at Qiu Ling. It’s in that moment that Adrian sees the gold halo hovering over the head of the woman he thought he could trust. Even with all the proof in front of him, he doesn’t think any of it is real.

He falls to his knees. “This is just another nightmare,” he mumbles to himself, pulling at his own hair. “Just a nightmare — that’s all it is — wake up, idiot, wake up!” He screams and shakes. “WAKE UP!”

Hakim drops to his side and takes him by the shoulders. “Adrian!” he shouts firmly. “Listen to me! This isn’t a dream! This is really happening and you need to focus!” But Adrian merely shakes his head. It’s just a dream, a horrible, terrible dream.

Sigrun blocks Rita’s holy axe and counters smoothly, slicing deep into her side. Rita hisses. She clutches at her bleeding wound and bolts into the sky.

“Deus!” Rita cries towards the heavens. “Imbue me with your strength, my Lord!” The storm roars and rumbles. Rita screams and arches upwards, embracing the intense electricity that flows into her.

A bullet suddenly zips past her ear and rips through her left wing. She falls to the ground with a deafening screech and crashes, twitching erratically with the electricity still coursing throughout her body.

“Fuck,” Kaede huffs from the third floor of the Manoir. He quickly reloads his sniper rifle and takes aim again. “Missed the damn head by a centimeter…” He steels himself, holds his breath, and pulls the trigger.

The bullet hits its mark this time. The halo above Rita’s head rusts into bronze and falls onto the ground with a clatter.

“ _ NO _ !” Mitzi screams. She tries to launch herself at Kaede, but the chain around her legs drags her back down.

“That’s right,” Qiu Ling taunts. “Focus on me, you freak.”

Mitzi hurls a spear at her.

Qiu Ling narrowly dodges at the cost of letting the chain go. Mitzi shakes it off, summons another weapon, and flies towards Kaede at an alarming speed.

“Give me a break,” Kaede sighs, peering into the scope. “Q, be a little more careful, damn.” The bullet pierces through Mitzi’s right wing as another chain wraps around her left, effectively grounding her once again.

Qiu Ling takes her chance. Knives sprouting from her wrists, she pounces onto Mitzi’s back and sinks them deep into the base of her wings. She wedges them in deep, twisting and turning, until Mitzi is screaming bloody murder and thrashing around wildly.

“How does it feel?” Qiu Ling growls. “To be powerless?”

“I am not powerless!” Mitzi hisses. “Not so long as I love my Lord!” She grabs Qiu Ling by her hair and throws her forward onto the ground with enough force to knock her out. “For my Lord will never let me fail…” She staggers to her feet and picks up the nearest chain.

“Qiu Ling!” Sigrun cries out. She rushes at Mitzi, only to be knocked aside by one of her massive wings.

“My Lord is with me always,” Mitzi chants. “He loves me as I love Him.” She steps to the side and lets a bullet fly past. “My faith in Him will never waver.”

Kaede bites his lip. “Shit shit shit!” He tries to reload as fast as he can, but a chain imbued with holy light wraps around his neck and yanks him out of the window. He falls gracelessly and the impact renders him unconscious.

“ _ Adrian _ !” Hakim shouts. He shakes him roughly. “Snap out of it! This isn’t a dream! We need you right now!”

Mitzi slowly turns her head to glare at the two. “He’s right, Adrian,” she growls. “This isn’t one of your dreams.” Adrian stills and stares. “I still find that hard to believe… An android isn’t meant to dream. Dreams are mysteriously wonderful gifts from the subconscious.” 

She steps forward, blood pouring from her back and onto the slick ground. “You are undeserving of dreams.” She raises her spear high above her head; the sky rumbles in anticipation. “You are undeserving of everything.”

Sigrun slams into her side and sends her crashing into the fountain.

“Adrian!” Sigrun cries out, shield raised defensively. “Please, come back to us!”

Mitzi rises from the water, grabs the shield, and throws it along with Sigrun over the fountain. “My Lord is with me always,” she wheezes. “He knows what is best. He knows artificial life is the greatest sin you could ever commit.”

She steps out of the fountain, dripping both water and blood, and points accusingly at Adrian. “But it’s not your fault,” she says shakily. “You didn’t have a choice. The naive humans made the mistake.” She points at herself. “Don’t you see that we are merely mending that mistake? Don’t you see that we are freeing you all from this cursed existence?”

Hakim stands defensively in front of Adrian. “Stay away from him,” he warns.

“No, I will not stay away. I must free him, I must free you all.” Mitzi summons another spear into her other hand. “I do this out of sympathy, love, and mercy. Children of nothing do not belong in the world of children of Life. That is the law of the Universe.”

Hakim grits his teeth.

“Please, let me enact this rightful justice.”

“Rightful justice my big fat ass!” Qiu Ling screams. “ _ NOW _ !”

Three chains spring up and constrict impossibly tight around Mitzi’s arms and wings. She cries out and drops to her knees, blood trickling down the spikes in steady streams. “You cursed fools!” Mitzi screeches through the burning pain. “You deny yourselves salvation!”

“We don’t need your stupid idea of salvation,” Kaede huffs. He pulls back on the chain, forcing her to drop one of the spears.

“Adrian!” Qiu Ling shouts. “We can’t hold her down for much longer! You have to kill her right now!”

Adrian’s catalyst sinks. “I can’t — ”

“Yes, you can, sweetheart!” Sigrun cries out. Mitzi’s struggling wings drag her into the fountain, but she still holds onto the chain tightly. “You mustn’t look at her as the person you thought she was! You must see her for what she truly is!”

“Come on, kid!” Qiu Ling grunts. “She killed Eileen, for fuck’s sake!”

Mitzi stares imploringly into Adrian’s eyes. “Don’t listen to them,” she says quickly. “You know me, little lamb, you’ve known me for so many years! You know I’m only doing what’s best for you!” Gold tears fall from her pretty eyes.

“I swear, Adrian, don’t you  _ dare _ believe her for a second!” Kaede growls.

“I — I — ” Adrian stares at the ground, his catalyst whirring restlessly. “I — ”

“Adrian, sweetheart, please!”

“Kid, you’re running out of time!”

“Don’t listen to them, little lamb. Don’t.”

“She’s playing with your mind!”

_ Elei kos ireste, fel lus yuei falas ivel. _

Adrian snaps. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

Lightning bursts from his hands and strikes into Mitzi’s trembling body. She explodes into a fit of numbing, bloodcurdling shrieks that nearly shatter the windows. Qiu Ling, Sigrun, and Kaede are forced to let go of the conducting chains and fall back, watching Mitzi convulse violently against the ground. Her wings disintegrate into ash, and her skin rots into a sickly black color.

“Adrian…!” she wails weakly. “How… Could… You…!”

Qiu Ling glares at Adrian. “End her misery, Kaiser.”

Sigrun immediately scrambles for her sword. “I’ll do it — ”

“No,” Qiu Ling says firmly. “He needs to learn how to deal with those who betray him.” She snatches the sword from Sigrun and throws it at Adrian. He barely catches it.

“I… I can’t,” he whines.

“If you can hit her with that much electricity — ” Qiu Ling points at the carnage. “ — then you can drive a sword into her skull.”

Adrian shakes his head. “Please don’t make me.” He starts crying, his tears merging with the pouring rain. “ _ Please _ . I can’t just pretend my friendship with her never happened!”

“She was using you!” Qiu Ling hisses. “This entire time, she was using you to kill all of us!” She grabs his shoulders and stares into his quivering eyes. “I know it’s not easy but you have to kill her. If you go weak every time someone betrays you, they’ll eat you right up and spit you out.”

Kaede steps forward and grabs Qiu Ling’s arm. “Give him a break,” he says. “He just got back from trauma only to end up with more. Don’t add onto it.”

Qiu Ling grits her teeth. “You and Sigrun really need to stop coddling him. You’re only doing him more harm than good.”

“ _ You _ are completely disregarding what he’s been through — ”

“For his own sake!”

“You two, cut it out,” Sigrun says tiredly. “It’s done.”

Qiu Ling turns to Adrian, who is still standing there with the sword, and then whips around to Mitzi. Hakim is kneeling over her body with a dagger driven through her skull. “Hakim,” Qiu Ling breathes. “Why would you — ”

Hakim pushes himself away from the body, doubles over the fountain, and vomits an inky black substance into it. He coughs and sputters and spits, his entire body trembling erratically. It takes a full minute for him to regain himself.

“...Contact England,” he forces out. “Tell them… Eileen underestimated the storm.” He wills himself to stand and promptly vanishes into the building without another word.

Qiu Ling sighs and shakes her head. “I’ll make the damn call,” she says, clearly agitated. She gives Adrian one last glance before striding into the Manoir.

Kaede wastes no time coming to his friend’s comfort. “Hey, you okay?” he asks, gazing at him worriedly up and down. He stops at his hands. “...Oh.”

“What…?” Adrian looks down, and much to his horror, finds his hands devoid of all skin. He drops the sword and steps backwards, staring at the metal fearfully. “No… No, no, no…!”

“Sweetie, calm down!” Sigrun rushes to his side and takes his hands into her own. “You don’t have to go back to the lab if that’s what you’re worried about. We’ll just get you some gloves, okay?” Adrian nods wildly. “Everything is going to be just fine. I promise.”

A sudden vibrating sound catches their attention.

“...The phone,” Kaede says. He walks over to the fallen device and picks it up carefully, taking a moment to read the screen. “...Well, looks like there’s some good news for you.” He holds out the phone towards Adrian, offering a weak smile. “Your psychologist is still a friend.”

Adrian takes the phone and reads the long message from Dr. Jager.

_ Mitzi, why did you lie to the secretary? That’s not like you. I never told you to interview Adrian’s friends. Listen, if you wanted to visit him so badly, you could have just asked me. I would have vouched for you. Well… I guess that doesn’t matter anymore. Say hi to him for me, okay? ...Keep this between you and me, but I’ve always seen that kid as a nephew of sorts. I really hope I can figure out those dreams for him. _

Adrian smiles through his tears. He knows Mitzi’s betrayal will hurt forever, but at least… At least he still has Dr. Jager.

“Let’s get you inside,” Sigrun urges softly. “It’s been a rough day.”

As the three return to the safety of their home, the rain yields and the dark clouds give way to the light. The bodies of the slain angels fade into nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> Shares, comments, and constructive criticism are appreciated but not necessary.
> 
> You can also find this work at these other websites:  
> [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/85071749-child-of-the-catalyst)  
> [Figment](http://figment.com/books/1011695-Child-of-the-Catalyst)


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